SUN VALLEY, Idaho – What is it that makes a legendary ski resort? What grabs you and makes you keep coming back over the years?

Sun Valley has the recipe and is willing to share.

Start with a mountain that demands your attention and forces you to practice the sport with skill and athleticism.

Not necessarily a mountain that terrifies you, or requires a moment of contemplation before you descend a run that screams double-diamond. But a mountain that gives you an honest challenge on every run.

Factor in the other aspects that have made skiing the ultimate social sport – amenities that spell service, and even a touch of elegance. And you’re talking about America’s first ski resort, Sun Valley.

When Averill Harriman settled on this central Idaho spot as the destination for his Union Pacific trains from Chicago in 1936, he was looking to combine the elements of travel, adventure and romance in a place where the memories would live long beyond the price of the vacation.

Sun Valley memories for me include the chance to perfect long, arcing giant slalom turns, stretching out from the Top of Baldy to the base at either Warm Springs or River Run. These are two of the longest continuous runs in North American skiing, each covering more than 3,300 vertical feet. Don’t forget to activate your altimeter watch at Sun Valley. If you’re into the numbers, 35,000 vertical feet is a reasonable day for most strong skiers. If you’re looking for a personal best and not interested in slope-side chats, 50,000 is surely within range.

Finding a resort for a ski holiday starts with the mountain and Sun Valley delivers. A drought has marked this winter season, but the world’s largest and most-expensive snowmaking system has guaranteed quality skiing. Only the bowls between Bald Mountain and Seattle Ridge were closed, and tree skiing was discouraged.

This mountain has never been a storm magnet like those further to the west, or the south. Sun Valley averages about half the natural snowfall of Mammoth at 225 inches per year, making snowmaking a necessity.

With the bowls waiting for more snow, the number of legitimate black-diamond runs is limited, but Sun Valley compensates by under-rating its mostly blue runs. The phrase “bluer than blue” fits many of the consistently pitched cruising runs. And if you’ve thought green runs were devoid of pitch, look again when you visit Seattle Ridge. Here the runs are named after three of Sun Valley’s famous racing alums: Gretchen Fraser, Christin Cooper and Muffy Davis. All are green runs, but don’t bring a beginner here – these would be blue runs anywhere else in the skiing universe.

Seattle Ridge is an extremely popular area for intermediate skiers who take their mid-day break in the on-mountain lodge and enjoy the 360-degree views. It does not match the Warm Springs or River Run for the sheer thigh-burning chance at 3,300-vertical foot non-stop runs. But it collects the best man-made snow on the mountain.

Sun Valley’s skiing is solid, and strong. Enough so that you can appreciate an end-of-

day soak in the giant outdoor hot pools, where beverage service reminds you to slow down the pace and savor the moment.

Sun Valley’s timeless style and grace offers you a chance to leave the watch in your travel bag – unless you are recording vertical feet on the hill. Even during the busiest of holiday weeks, there is a sense of grace and elegance that begs you to slow down and enjoy the moment.

Although Sun Valley drips elegance, there are bargains to be had. Lodging prices drop after the holidays and the daily adult lift ticket ($82) is five bucks cheaper than at Mammoth. Food prices are Idaho, not Colorado. You go for the skiing, but you come away with memories of the service and the resort experience.